Robins Kaplan mourns the loss of our longtime partner, colleague, mentor, and dear friend Tara Sutton, who passed away after a brief illness on September 20, 2026.
Tara spent her entire legal career at Robins Kaplan. Over more than three decades, she became an accomplished plaintiffs' trial lawyer, a leader of our firm, and an unwavering advocate for people and communities confronting some of the most difficult circumstances of their lives.
Tara believed deeply in the ability of the law, and of good lawyers, to make a difference in people's lives. When asked why she had remained at Robins Kaplan throughout her career, Tara traced it back to what drew her here as a summer associate: the belief that exceptional legal representation should not be reserved for the powerful. Everyone, she believed, deserved the best lawyers.
She lived that belief throughout her career.
As a young associate, Tara earned a place on the Robins Kaplan team representing the State of Minnesota and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota in the landmark litigation against the tobacco industry. The case culminated in a historic $6.6 billion settlement in 1998 and helped establish the foundation for the trial lawyer Tara would become.
After several years practicing patent litigation, Tara took on leadership of the firm's Mass Tort practice in 2006. She became a leader in some of the most significant product liability and public health litigation in the country. Decades after the tobacco case, she represented the State of Minnesota in its case against JUUL and Altria, which resulted in a $60.5 million settlement. She also played a central role in national opioid litigation on behalf of Tribal Nations, helping secure historic settlements while ensuring Tribal Nations had their own voice in resolving a crisis that had devastated their communities.
Tara remained at the forefront of major litigation throughout her career. Most recently, she was reappointed to the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in the national Depo-Provera multidistrict litigation, where she continued her work on behalf of individuals alleging serious injuries associated with the contraceptive.
Across those cases and so many others, Tara's focus remained remarkably constant: the people she represented.
She once described mass tort work as the most rewarding legal work she had done because clients often came to her after "the single worst thing" had happened to them. Tara understood that even the best legal outcome could not undo that loss. The lawyer's job, as she saw it, was to help people through it, seek accountability, and give them a path forward.
That sense of purpose was matched by a genuine love of the law. Tara loved the preparation, strategy, split-second decisions, and complete focus that trial demanded. She was effective in the courtroom because she was prepared, direct, and utterly committed to her client. She earned the respect of colleagues and adversaries alike for being straightforward and fair.
Tara's influence at Robins Kaplan extended far beyond her cases. She served for a decade on the firm's Executive Board, led the National Mass Tort Group, served as the firm's Diversity Champion, and helped shape generations of lawyers who followed her.
She understood personally how much opportunity matters. Early in her career, women leaders at Robins Kaplan trusted Tara with meaningful roles on important cases. She never forgot it. As her own career progressed, she became an advocate for giving younger lawyers, particularly women, the same opportunity to step forward, take risks, do important work, and lead.
Her advice to young lawyers reflected the way she approached her own career: work hard, do excellent work, remain open to learning, take on challenges outside your comfort zone, and make sure your voice is heard.
Tara carried that commitment beyond Robins Kaplan. She was a longtime leader and past president of Public Justice and devoted substantial time to civic and professional organizations. In 2025, the University of Iowa College of Law honored her with its Alumni Achievement Award for her contributions to trial litigation and longstanding commitment to justice, public health, and advocacy. She was also named among the “Top 10 Minnesota Super Lawyers” by Super Lawyers in 2025 and 2026 and was recognized multiple times among its “Top 50 Women Super Lawyers.“
Her professional honors were numerous, but the measure of Tara's career cannot be found in a list of awards, verdicts, or settlements.
It is found in the clients she stood beside. In the lawyers she taught and encouraged. In the colleagues who trusted her. In the difficult cases she was willing to take on. And in a firm that she joined as a summer associate and helped lead for decades.
We will miss her enormously.
Our deepest sympathies are with Tara's husband, Gary, their children, her family, and the many friends, colleagues, and clients whose lives she touched.
